Entering Road America with a deficit of 50-plus points to the NASCAR Cup Series Playoff cutline, Tyler Reddick was candid about the fact that his Richard Childress Racing team would need to win, in order to make the series’ post-season.
So, Reddick did just that, defeating a dominant Chase Elliott to secure his maiden victory in the NASCAR Cup Series, marking the first road course win for Richard Childress Racing since Watkins Glen in 2006, 16 years ago.
Though, it wasn’t as simple for Reddick as it sounds, as he had one of the series’ all-time best road racers standing between him and his first victory at the top echelon of NASCAR, who had far-and-away dominated the event to that point.
While the Hendrick Motorsports driver gapped the field in the race’s first stage, Elliott was unable to do the same in the race’s second stage – possibly a result of brake fade on the No. 9 — with Reddick staying within two seconds throughout the 15-lap stint.
In the race’s final stage, Reddick was able to immediately challenge Elliott for the lead on the restart, before settling back into the runner-up spot, stalking the series’ most popular driver at any opportunity.
The turning point of the race came at lap 43, when the top-seven drivers elected to make their final pit stop of the event. However, a slight stumble on Elliott’s stop, left the top-two drivers nose-to-tail at pit exit, putting Reddick within striking distance.
With 16 laps remaining, Reddick was able to reel Elliott in enough, to the point where he could take advantage of a mistake by the race’s dominator in Turn 5, completing the pass for the lead – and eventually, the victory.
The Corning, California-native would finish the event 3.304 seconds ahead of Chase Elliott, whose race-high 36 laps led were not enough to visit victory lane in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin.
Kyle Larson, who came up short in Saturday’s Xfinity Series race to Ty Gibbs, finished in third place, more than 20 seconds behind the race-winner. Trackhouse Racing teammates, Ross Chastain, and Daniel Suarez rounded out the top five.
Chris Buescher, Austin Cindric, Michael McDowell, AJ Allmendinger, and Kevin Harvick completed the top-10 from Sunday’s 250-mile event.
Leaving Road America, Chase Elliott continues to hold the lead in the regular-season point standings, by 33 points over Ryan Blaney. Ross Chastain, Kyle Larson, and Joey Logano round out the top five in series standings.
